I’ve been using the best gaming consoles since the early 1990s and though I love my home-built gaming PC, there are many nights when I would rather curl up on the couch and enjoy one of the best PS5 games than sit at my desk.
Speaking of which, the PS5 Slim is the console I currently find easiest to recommend to most players. Offering a more compelling library of exclusive games than the similarly powerful Xbox Series X, it’s Sony first-party titles that give PlayStation the edge right now.
Right now, the far more powerful PS5 Pro remains a relatively tough sell at $699/£699 for all but the most dedicated PlayStation fans, especially when it doesn’t come with a disc drive. If you’re on a particularly tight budget, I recommend picking up the Nintendo Switch Lite, which is a great little handheld console you can easily buy for less than $200.
Whether you’re looking to play 4K action-adventure titles on one of the best OLED TVs on PS5 Pro or want to enjoy gaming on the go on either the Nintendo Switch or Valve’s Steam Deck, my list of the best games consoles you can currently buy covers a variety of budgets to ensure you’ll find the right system to suit your needs below.
The quick list
A fantastic 4K console that has understandably easily outsold the Xbox Series X this generation thanks to its superior collection of first-party games. Its fantastic and innovative DualSense controller is also our favorite pad to game on.
A strong budget console that’s ideal for gamers who don’t require a disc drive and are happy to subscribe to Microsoft’s Game Pass service and then download titles. Yes, it’s a little underpowered, but it’s a well-designed machine that is good value for money.
Sony’s prosumer PlayStation is a console that’s been designed with the most enthusiastic gamers in mind. Though its AI-driven PSSR features have yet to fully convince, it’s still the most powerful console of all time and can offer drool-worthy graphics.
The most powerful Xbox ever is a relatively small but mighty console capable of delivering stunning 4K gaming experiences. It may lack the number of must-play exclusives of the PS5, yet Game Pass is becoming an increasingly compelling subscription service.
Almost a decade after it launched, Nintendo’s handheld hybrid console is still going strong. Great for sofa play or on that train to work, it makes up for a lack of power with a super software library that’s predictably spearheaded by some amazing Nintendo games.
The best and most popular handheld PC out there offers an easy-to-use console-like experience thanks to its brilliant, snappy and ultra-intuitive operating system, SteamOS. And if you want the best handheld screen available, consider buying the Steam Deck OLED.
Nintendo’s most affordable handheld ditches the dock and detachable Joy-Cons of the standard Switch, but its slightly smaller buttons and 5.5-inch screen make it a super-portable and appealing budget console that’s ideally suited for kids.
The best consoles you can buy today
Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.
The best overall games console
We called the PS5 an “essential console” back when we first reviewed Sony’s machine when it launched in late 2020, and the refreshed PS5 Slim, which launched in 2023, takes things a step further delivering the same powerful internal specs in a much-appreciated slimmer plastic casing.
The behemoth size of the original PS5 was one of its key flaws, but the PS5 Slim rectifies this issue with a thinner profile. Plus, the Slim makes a few additional improvements such as offering a larger 1TB SSD compared to the base PS5 console’s 825GB. For these reasons, we labeled the PS5 Slim “the console we should have gotten from the start” in our Editor’s Choice review.
But what exactly makes the PS5 Slim such a success, and our pick for the best console you can buy right now? There are several great reasons but it’s hard to look beyond the quality of its software library. When it comes to exclusive games, Xbox Series X/S simply can’t compete with the quality of Sony’s best titles.
Astro Bot! Marvel’s Spider-Man 2! Helldivers 2! Horizon Forbidden West! Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart! The Last of Us Part 1! Gran Turismo 7! While you can technically now play most of these games on PC, the ones that were ported over enjoyed long exclusivity periods on PS5, and the likes of Demon’s Souls remain exclusively playable on Sony's black-and-white box.
Backwards compatibility is also excellent on PS5, so if you are PS4 owner looking to make the jump to the current console generation, rest easy in the knowledge the vast majority of your last-gen games will work without issue on Sony’s latest console.
Are there issues with what we consider the best console for most people overall? Of course, but they don’t overly detract from the appeal of the PS5 Slim. While we love the DualSense controller thanks to its comfortable feel and cool haptic features, it runs out of battery alarmingly fast. PS5 Slim also doesn’t come with a vertical stand-out-of-the-box. If you want to place your console upright by your television, you’ll need to cough up an extra $30/£25.
However, if you want to play the best console games on a system that will load titles incredibly quickly thanks to its ultra-fast SSD, the PS5 is the console we find easiest to recommend for most players.
Read our full PS5 Slim review.
The best value games console
The Xbox Series S may well be the most attractive console Microsoft has ever made. Its small form factor and unfussy, sleek design means it will easily slot into your entertainment center and won’t dominate and distract like the chunky PS5. And while it’s somewhat underpowered, the flipside to this is it runs incredibly quietly.
Priced at around $289/£249, the Xbox Series S is perfectly priced for gamers on a tighter budget or for parents looking to buy kids their first console. In terms of specs, and considering it’s so much cheaper than the $449/£479 Xbox Series X, cuts have understandably been made.
Xbox Series S lacks the processing grunt to play modern Xbox games at 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels) like the Xbox Series X can handle. Instead, with its 8-core custom Zen 2 CPU, AMD RDNA 2 GPU and just 10GB of GDDR6 RAM, this is a console that has primarily been designed with 1080p gameplay in mind — though it can support a max resolution of 1440p (2560 x 1440).
It’s also not the console for you if you like to buy games on disc, rather than download them digitally, as the Xbox Series S lacks a disc drive. You might also want to upgrade its SSD, as its stock drive is only 512GB. With game install files increasingly ballooning in size, that SSD is going to fill up real fast.
Priced aggressively, sporting a great controller and small enough to easily throw in a bag should you want to take it over to a friend’s house, there’s a lot to like about the Xbox Series S. And if you’re not fussed by playing games at Ultra HD resolutions, this really is a terrific little games console.
Read our full Xbox Series S review.
The best premium games console
There’s no question the PS5 Pro is an absolute beast of a machine. The most powerful console ever made, all that graphical grunt you get from its 16.7 teraflop GPU and 16GB of DDR5 RAM come at a serious price. Sony’s prosumer PlayStation costs $699/£699, and if you want the optional disc drive that will set you back an additional $79/£99.
This is a console that has been designed for the most hardcore PlayStation fans, which is reflected in that eye-watering price tag. If you can afford it though, some of the graphical experiences you can enjoy on the upgraded PS5 are downright jaw-dropping.
Horizon Forbidden West could be the best-looking console game of all time played at 4K/60fps on the PS5 Pro. Games like the already beautiful Gran Turismo 7 feel even more responsive on the Pro compared to the standard PS5 thanks to the addition of 120 frame rate modes.
That said, Sony’s much-hyped AI-powered PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) has produced patchy results so far. While PSSR is great at boosting both image quality and performance in God of War: Ragnarok and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, it’s produced far poorer results in too many third-party games — such as Star Wars: Jedi Survivor and the Silent Hill 2 remake — to fully convince so far.
However, if you have the money, and want to future-proof your PlayStation games as much as possible until the inevitable PS6, the PS5 Pro is comfortably the most technically impressive console you can buy.
Read our full PS5 Pro review.
The best Xbox games console
The Xbox Series X is the most powerful console Microsoft has ever made. Considerably smaller than the PS5, it’s actually slightly more powerful than Sony’s non-Pro console. It also offers better VRR support (Variable Refresh Rate) than its Japanese rival, meaning many games will feel ultra smooth if you’re lucky enough to be playing on one of the best TVs.
Like the PS5, you can buy either a disc or disc-less version of the Xbox Series X. If you opt for the former, not only do you have the luxury of selling your games after you’ve completed them, but the disc drive edition of the Series X is also a more than decent 4K Blu-ray player.
Sure, it would have been nice if Microsoft had refreshed the Xbox Wireless Controller compared to the more or less identical pad the Xbox One launched with. Yet it’s still a fantastic peripheral that feels great in the hand. The UI of both the Series X and Series S also haven’t been significantly overhauled since the last generation, and though navigating the home screen is relatively snappier, the overall interface feels cluttered next to the PS5’s cleaner UI.
There are minor quibbles, of course, especially when you consider the appeal of Xbox Game Pass. Available on both Series X, S and Windows PCs, Microsoft’s subscription service remains excellent value for money. The top-tier Xbox Game Ultimate costs $20/£15 a month, and that outlay grants you access to hundreds of titles to download. The biggest appeal? Ultimate lets you play Xbox Studios games like Starfield and Forza Horizon 5 on the day they launch, which is a massive draw if you don’t want to fork out $70 to own a game outright.
Though it hasn’t sold in the numbers Microsoft would have hoped for, the Xbox Series X remains an excellent and powerful 4K games console with a game library that continues to get stronger.
Read our full Xbox Series X review.
The best hybrid games console
Since it launched in 2017, the Nintendo Switch has sold north of 150m units. That’s a pretty incredible number when you consider how underpowered the handheld hybrid is compared to the PS5 and Xbox Series X. But there lies the Switch’s central appeal: you can just as easily enjoy playing it in Handheld Mode on the bus as you can on your TV with the compact console in Docked Mode.
The other massive draw with the Switch? It has a phenomenal selection of games to choose from, and predictably, the very best come from Nintendo itself. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel Tears of the Kingdom are bonafide all-time open-world classics, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Super Smash Bros Ultimate provide tremendous online experiences, while a certain iconic plumber’s delights in Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
With the Nintendo Switch 2 set to launch at some point in 2025, the fact Nintendo’s upcoming console will support the vast majority of Switch games means you may want to hold out and buy that machine instead of the Big N’s increasingly aging console.
Specs-wise, the likes of the Steam Deck absolutely demolish Nintendo’s system, which often struggles to run games at 1080p at stable frame rates. For 2D titles and many indie games, the Switch remains powerful enough to handle less demanding titles, yet there’s no question it’s showing its age. Battery life can also be an issue in Handheld Mode, where the palm-friendly console can run out of juice in less than 5 hours if you fully crank up its 6.2-inch screen’s brightness to the max.
The amount of flexibility Nintendo provides players to enjoy its console — in large part, thanks to its unique and playful Joy-Con motion controllers — means the Switch remains a terrific option for both kids and big kids alike who don’t need bleeding-edge graphical tech from their games.
Read our full Nintendo Switch review.
The best handheld games console
We initially billed Valve’s breakout portable device as the “Nintendo Switch for adults”, and that’s very much still the case. Even though the Steam Deck is technically a handheld PC rather than a true console, the clean and intuitive SteamOS interface makes the Deck just as simple to use as Nintendo’s handheld hybrid.
And that’s what really separates Valve’s teeny PC from the competition: it’s pretty much idiot-proof to use when compared to its Windows-based rivals like the Asus ROG Ally X or Lenovo Legion Go. Though those handhelds may be considerably more powerful than the Steam Deck, the interfaces are far more fiddly than Valve’s machine.
With the Deck you can instantly download and play your favorite PC games in a flash, and SteamOS really does make you feel like you’re using a more traditional tried-and-true handheld console than a mini PC. Thanks to Valve’s Steam Deck Verified badges, it’s easy to find and filter what games run terrifically on this excellent system.
Steam Deck also represents good value for money. With Steam sales regularly popping up offering games at rock-bottom prices, you could easily amass a great little collection of games for the cost of a few PS5 titles.
And if you’re a PC player who’s built up a huge Steam library over the years, you’ll instantly be able to enjoy many of your games on the Steam Deck, with the added bonus cross-saves normally work without issue should you also own one of the best gaming laptops.
If you want to push the boat out a little further, the Steam Deck OLED is also well worth considering. Its 7.4-inch OLED HDR screen makes games look absolutely sensational, and the LED panel of the base Steam Deck can’t quite compare to how vivid and punchy the best Steam games look on Valve’s upgraded handheld.
Read our full Steam Deck review.
The best value handheld games console
If funds are tight but you still want to experience the best Mario and Zelda games, the Nintendo Switch Lite is the most affordable version of the hybrid console the company makes. Its official MSRP is $199/£199, yet it can often be picked up in sales for a good deal less than that.
So what features have Nintendo cut from the Lite to hit that sub-$200 price? It’s 5.5-inch LCD 720p touchscreen is a good deal smaller than the standard Switch — though on a more positive note, this also makes it more portable. Unlike its larger sibling, the Lite lacks detachable Joy-Cons, though can still buy a separate pair of the motion controllers and pair them with the Switch Lite wirelessly.
The other big omission is the lack of the HDMI docking station both the standard Switch and premium Nintendo Switch OLED come boxed with. But if you want to play games on your TV on the Lite, this thankfully isn’t a deal breaker. Though Nintendo’s smallest current-gen handheld isn’t compatible with the official Nintendo Switch dock, there are plenty of far cheaper third-party alternatives out there that will allow docked play on the Lite just fine.
The most travel-friendly handheld Nintendo currently makes, the Switch Lite is a great option for folks who want to game on their daily commute. However, be aware its smaller size means it may not be best suited for gamers with larger hands.
For folks who are more picky about screen quality, the aforementioned $349/£299 Nintendo Switch OLED and its incredible 7-inch screen that offers perfect black levels might be a better investment. But if you’re fine with a smaller screen and plan to play entirely in Handheld Mode, the Nintendo Switch Lite is a winning handheld that won’t overly dent your bank balance.
Read our full Nintendo Switch Lite review.
How we test the best games console
Testing games consoles is a far less scientific process than when we review gaming PCs or laptops. As modern consoles are fixed platforms, they provide more consistent (but normally lower) frame rates than a desktop rig you can easily overclock for boosted performance.
When it comes to traditional home consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X, we mainly examine how quietly they run, judge just how good their games look on some of the best 4K TVs, while also evaluating the battery life of their first-party controllers. After that, it’s really all about the games. Here, we extensively play a number of titles across a wide variety of genres to give an impression of what type of gamer the console is best suited for.
As for handheld consoles such as the Nintendo Switch, battery life is the key technical aspect we test. Depending on the level of screen brightness and how graphically demanding a game is, the Switch may run out of juice after five hours or it can run as long as nine hours.
How to choose the best games console
Choosing the right game console for your needs really boils down to how much you value cutting-edge tech and the amount of leisure time you have on your hands. If you only get a chance to play games on your commute to work or for an hour so in bed at night, you should probably prioritize a machine you can game on the go with, like the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck.
But if you’re a hardcore gamer who spends most of their evenings with a controller glued to their hands, you’d be better going with a PS5 or Xbox Series X. If high-quality 4K graphics are important to you, those two consoles and even more powerful PS5 Pro are the machines to go for.
Lastly, consider what games you want to play. Generally speaking, you can easily dip in for quick gameplay sessions on many Nintendo Switch games, whereas the best-story-driven titles on PS5 require more time and emotional investment. Of the consoles above, the PS5 and Switch definitely have the best library of exclusive blockbuster games.
That said Nintendo rarely drops the price of its first-party software and PS5 games often cost $70. If you want to experience as many games for as little cash as possible, Xbox Series X and the digital-only Series S suddenly become very appealing thanks to Microsoft’s affordable Game Pass subscription service.
